IRON MAY BENEFIT CHRONIC COUGH

Patients presenting to an outpatient respiratory clinic with unexplained chronic cough, and later found to be iron deficient, showed a “dramatic” improvement in their symptoms after taking iron supplements, they report in The International Journal of Clinical Practice.

Although this was only a small study, the 22 women involved in the study had not responded to standard treatment, but following two months of iron treatment, a histamine challenge concentration had to be increased fourfold to produce the same number of coughs. A “plausible mechanism” for iron deficiency causing chronic cough could be impairment of the defence mechanisms of the airway mucosa, they suggested. This fitted with the well-known link between iron deficiency and oral mucosa atrophy, they said.

See your Naturopathic Physician or Doctor before taking iron supplements. If iron supplements are required, only take plant-based iron supplementation as they are better absorbed by the body and don’t usually interfere with your bowels.